“You make us feel so welcome,” Alisa Xayalith of New Zealand-based rock outfit The Naked and Famous said in the middle of playing their song “Girls Like You.”
The band headlined a show with Los Angeles band White Arrows and Denver alt-psych rockers The Chain Gang of 1974 at the Crescent Ballroom on Tuesday night.
Fans of the bands ranged from hipsters to glow stick-covered kids to a middle-aged man who hasn’t quite left his Pink Floyd phase.
The show started off with White Arrows, an eccentric pop band with a kick of quirkiness and a light-up tambourine.
Members of the band wore button-down Hawaiian printed shirts as colorful lights danced behind them.
White Arrows’ psychedelic feel runs close to Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead” sound with intricate noises and fun pop sounds — especially in their song “Get Gone.”
The Chain Gang of 1974 draws heavy on an '80s sound. Their set was laced with heavy layering, waves of synths and intergalactic rhythms.
Lead singer Kamtim Mohager carelessly danced on stage and pointed at a girl in the crowd who was punching the air with her eyes closed, wiggling in what minimal space she had. “Everyone needs to be doing what she’s doing,” he said.
Their set included a dream-like song, “Matter of Time,” a David Bowie-esque song in “Heartbreakin’ Scream” and “Hold On,” which was heavy on the drum and bass and light piano.
Slowly, parts of the crowd moved, but Mohager encouraged more to join by the end of their set.
At 10 p.m., the stage slowly started piecing together while latecomers filled up the room awaiting the New Zealand group, The Naked and Famous.
The band hopped on stage to an overexcited group of fans clapping and screaming as the first beats of “The Ends” erupted through the venue.
Their set included hits such as “No Way” and “Punching in a Dream.”
Singer Alisa Xayalith's petite body moved around the stage, banging on a tambourine and belting the songs with beauty.
The 15 song set went by quickly as the band didn’t talk to the crowd just played song after song.
The members of the band didn’t start dancing and loosening up on stage until about mid-set with “All of This.”
With their last song, “Girls Like You,” the band slowly left the stage while the final drum beats repeated for a couple minutes.
As everyone was hoping, they ran back on stage to end with “Young Blood.”
By the end of the song, the sweaty crowd was cheering and holding their arms in the air.
While the crowd may not have been one of the liveliest, a fan handed singer Thom Powers an Arizona flag sprinkled with a sparkling heart to bring a huge smile on his face before leaving the stage.
Reach the reporter at mpareval@asu.edu
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